Portable gas detector

ABSTRACT

An improvement is provided in a portable gas detector used to detect combustible gases, such as methane, which embodies a Wheatstone bridge circuit including a refractory-coated detector element having thereon a catalyst for promoting oxidation of the combustible gas to be detected constituting one leg of the bridge and a refractory-coated reference element constituting a second leg of the bridge. The improvement consists in the application of a cobalt oxide coating to the reference element, whereby the occurrence of spurious signals by the Wheatstone bridge circuit due to causes other than the presence of a combustible gas is greatly reduced, if not completely eliminated.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of copending application Ser. No. 142,026filed on Apr. 21, 1980, entitled "Portable Gas Detector".

This invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for detectingcombustible gases such as methane.

Wheatstone bridge circuits are commonly used today for detection ofcombustible gases. For such use, the Wheatstone bridge circuit includesa refractory-coated detector element constituting one leg of the bridgeand a refractory-coated reference element constituting a second leg ofthe bridge. These two elements comprise minute platinum coils coatedwith the refractory, for example, alumina, that is Al₂ O₃. The detectorelement also has a catalytic coating formed upon the refractory coating,the purpose of which is to catalyze the reaction of combustible gaseswith oxygen. The catalytic coating contains a suitable catalyst such asplatinum or palladium, or mixtures thereof. The reference element has anon-catalytic coating formed upon its refractory coating. Ideally, thefunction of this second coating of the reference element is toeffectively nullify any changes in the detector element that would causea spurious signal to be given by the Wheatstone bridge circuit of thepresence of combustible gas. An additional function of the secondcoating on the reference element is to poison any catalytic effect ofits refractory coating to promote the reaction which is catalyzed by thecatalyst in the detector element.

There are many characteristics that must be possessed by the secondcoating of the reference element in order for it to perform its statedfunctions satisfactorily. These characteristics or properties are thosewhich ideally nullify those changes in the detector element which resultfrom changes in operating voltages, ambient temperature, humidity, agingand possibly others. To find a chemical composition suitable for use insuch coatings is essentially an empirical undertaking. A fewcompositions have been reported that possess the desired characteristicsto such extent that they are used commercially.

In accordance with my invention, I have found a chemical compositionwhich I believe to be superior to any of those in commercial use todayas the outer or second coating of the reference element described above.That chemical composition is a cobalt oxide, or a mixture of two of thecobalt oxides, CoO, and Co₃ O₄. The cobalt oxide coating may be suitablyformed by applying an aqueous solution of cobaltous nitrate, Co(NO₃)₂,to the refractory coating of the reference element, and thereafterheating the element to a temperature between 500° C. and 1000° C. in thepresence of air until the desired oxide formation has occurred.

For a better understanding of my invention, its objects and advantages,reference should be had to the following description of the preferredembodiment and to the accompanying drawing which is a schematic showingof the preferred embodiment.

Referring to the drawing there is shown a Wheatstone bridge circuitgenerally designated by the numeral 10. The circuit has two fixedresistors 12 and 14 and a source of potential 16. The output from thecircuit is connected through an amplifier 18 to an analogue meter 20 viaconductors 22 and 24. The circuit includes a methane detector elementdesignated generally by the numeral 26. This detector element comprisesa platinum resistor coil 28 which has an alumina (Al₂ O₃) refractorycoating 30 over which is coated a catalyst for methane oxidationdesignated by the numeral 32. The catalyst for this preferred embodimentmay be, alternatively, platinum, palladium, or a mixture of platinum andpalladium. The circuit also includes a reference element designatedgenerally by the numeral 34. The reference element comprises a platinumresistor coil 36 coated with an alumina refractory layer 38 over whichis deposited a coating 40 of cobalt oxides as described below.

The coating 40 of cobalt oxides is formed as follows. An aqueoussolution of cobaltous nitrate is made by dissolving cobaltous nitrate inwater. This solution is suitably applied to the alumina refractorycoating, and then heated to a temperature between 500° C. and 1000° C.in the presence of air by passing electrical current through theresistor 36 for sufficient time to convert the cobaltous nitrate to theoxides of cobalt. If necessary to obtain the requisite thickness of theoxide coating, the entire procedure may have to be repeated. Therequisite thickness is established when the Wheatstone bridge circuitbecomes insensitive to changes in bridge voltage.

The operation of the bridge circuit is as follows. By the suitableselection of resistors there is a zero output from the bridge circuit inthe absence of methane at the detector element 26. In the presence ofmethane, the methane is oxidized at the detector element 26. Theoxidation is promoted by the catalyst 32. Since the reaction of methaneand oxygen is exothermic, the temperature of the detector element andaccordingly of the platinum coil 28 is increased. The temperature of theplatinum coil 36 of the reference element 34, however, remainsunaffected as there is no oxidation of methane at this element. As thetemperature of the detector element 26 increases, relative to thereference element 34, the resistance of coil 28 correspondinglyincreases relative to the resistance of the coil 36 of the referenceelement 34. Consequently, the bridge becomes unbalanced, and a signal isproduced via the conductors 22 and 24 to amplifier 18. This signal isapproximately proportional to the increase in resistance of the detectorelement 26 and accordingly to the oxidation of methane at the detector,which in turn is approximately proportional to the amount orconcentration of methane in the atmosphere at the detector element. Thesignal is amplified by the amplifier 18 and transmitted to the analoguemeter 20 which is suitably calibrated to provide a readout proportionalto methane in the atmosphere.

EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

The object of the following reported experiment was to determine whetherthe use of a coating of cobalt oxides in the reference element in aWheatstone bridge circuit as described above would prevent thedevelopment of spurious signals of methane presence when the bridgevoltage was varied as is frequently the case in commercial unitsemploying batteries as the source of power.

A solution was first prepared which had the following composition:

    ______________________________________                                        Cobaltous Nitrate, Co(NO.sub.3).sub.2 . 6H.sub.2 O                                                     0.582 grams                                          Distilled Water, H.sub.2 O,                                                                            5 ml.                                                ______________________________________                                    

This solution was then applied to the refractory consisting of aluminumoxide which enveloped the platinum coil of the reference element. Thesolution was dried and the cobaltous nitrate converted to oxides bypassing a current through the reference element in the presence of air.The temperature of the element during the conversion to oxides wasbetween 500° C. and 1000° C. The reference element was then placed in aWheatstone bridge of the type shown in the drawing and described above,to determine the zero drift of the bridge signal in the absence ofmethane.

For purposes of comparison, the zero drift with voltage changes wasdetermined for a circuit in which the reference element had no depositof cobalt oxides. The results are reported below in Table I.

                  TABLE I                                                         ______________________________________                                        Bridge     Bridge       Instrument                                            Voltage    Signal       Display                                               ______________________________________                                        2.6 Volts  -6.1 mV      -0.2% Methane                                         2.4 Volts   0.0 mV       0.0% Methane                                         2.2 Volts  +4.4 mV      +0.1% Methane                                         ______________________________________                                    

One micro-liter of the cobaltous nitrate solution was then applied tothe reference element and the element heated by passing current throughthe platinum coil as follows to form various cobalt oxides on thesurface of the reference element:

    ______________________________________                                        Current-mA         Time                                                       ______________________________________                                         0-100             1 Min.                                                     100-200            1 Min.                                                     200-300            1 Min.                                                     300                1 Min.                                                     ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE II                                                        ______________________________________                                        RESULTS:                                                                      Bridge     Bridge       Instrument                                            Voltage    Signal       Display                                               ______________________________________                                        2.6 Volts  -3.7 mV      -0.1% Methane                                         2.4 Volts   0.0 mV       0.0% Methane                                         2.2 Volts  +3.2 mV      +0.1% Methane                                         ______________________________________                                    

The sensitivity to bridge voltage has decreased. The coating applicationwas repeated a second time.

                  TABLE III                                                       ______________________________________                                        Bridge     Bridge       Instrument                                            Voltage    Signal       Display                                               ______________________________________                                        2.6 Volts  -2.7 mV      0.0% Methane                                          2.4 Volts   0.0 mV      0.0% Methane                                          2.2 Volts  +2.6 mV      0.0% Methane                                          ______________________________________                                    

The coating application was repeated a third time.

                  TABLE IV                                                        ______________________________________                                        RESULTS:                                                                      Bridge     Bridge       Instrument                                            Voltage    Signal       Display                                               ______________________________________                                        2.6 Volts  -1.6 mV      0.0% Methane                                          2.4 Volts   0.0 mV      0.0% Methane                                          2.2 Volts  +1.4 mV      0.0% Methane                                          ______________________________________                                    

The detector now has sufficient insensitivity to bridge voltage changeso that the instrument display in turn exhibits a zero change in %Methane when the bridge voltage changes.

This detector was then life-tested in a cycle consisting of 15 secondson and 75 seconds off, the total cycle being 90 seconds. The detectorwas life-tested in this manner for a total of 75.5 hours, which isapproximately equivalent to six months of field usage. At the end ofthis time detector was tested for bridge voltage sensitivity with theresults as follows:

                  TABLE V                                                         ______________________________________                                        Bridge     Bridge       Instrument                                            Voltage    Signal       Display                                               ______________________________________                                        2.6 Volts  -1.4 mV      0.0% Methane                                          2.4 Volts   0.0 mV      0.0% Methane                                          2.2 Volts  +1.2 mV      0.0% Methane                                          ______________________________________                                    

There was no significant change in sensitivity.

According to the provisions of the Patent Statutes, I have explained theprinciple, preferred construction and mode of operation of my inventionand have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent itsbest embodiments. However, it should be understood that, within thescope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwisethan as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:
 1. In an apparatus for detecting a combustible gas whichcomprises a Wheatstone bridge circuit having (a) a detector elementcomprising an electrically conducting member coated with a refractoryand having on the surface of said refractory a catalyst for theoxidation of said gas, said detector element constituting one leg ofsaid bridge, and (b) a reference element comprising an electricallyconducting member coated with a refractory, said reference elementconstituting a second leg of said bridge, whereby upon catalyticoxidation of said gas an electrical signal approximately proportional tothe amount of said gas present at the detector element is produced, theimprovement which comprises a coating of cobalt oxide deposited upon therefractory coating of said reference element, whereby the occurrence ofspurious signals by the Wheatstone bridge circuit due to causes otherthan the presence of a combustible gas is greatly reduced, if notcompletely eliminated.
 2. In an apparatus for detecting methane whichcomprises a Wheatstone bridge circuit having (a) a detector elementcomprising a platinum coil coated with alumina and having on the surfaceof said alumina a catalyst selected from the class consisting ofplatinum, palladium, or mixtures thereof, said detector elementconstituting one leg of said bridge, and (b) a reference elementcomprising a platinum coil coated with alumina, said reference elementconstituting a second leg of said bridge, whereby upon catalyticoxidation of said methane an electrical signal approximatelyproportional to the amount of methane present at the detector element isproduced, the improvement which comprises a coating of cobalt oxidedeposited upon the alumina coating of said reference element, wherebythe occurrence of spurious signals by the Wheatstone bridge circuit dueto causes other than the presence of methane is greatly reduced, if notcompletely eliminated.